Magic's young players see the summer league as a key signpost

Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel

Each of the Orlando Magic’s least experienced players says he has added something to his game this offseason.

In the case of small forward Maurice Harkless, it’s added muscle, better ball-handling and an improved jumper. For power forward Andrew Nicholson, it’s greater explosiveness and more accurate 3-point shooting. For center Kyle O’Quinn, it’s a more reliable midrange jumper.

Now comes the chance to prove it.

When the annual Orlando Pro Summer League begins Sunday, the Magic will field a team that includes six holdovers from the squad that finished the 2012-13 season with the league’s worst record: forward Tobias Harris, guard Doron Lamb, swingman DeQuan Jones, Harkless, Nicholson and O’Quinn.

“They look better physically,” said James Borrego, the Magic’s lead assistant coach and head summer league coach.

“They’re hungrier. They’ve got another year under their belt, and they just look more confident out there. They look like they belong. They look like they’re NBA players, and they’re just aggressive right now — all of them.”

The summer league will crown a champion for the first time in its history. The Magic, who will also have second-overall pick Victor Oladipo and second-round pick Romero Osby, should be considered the heavy favorite because of the experience Harkless, Harris, Jones, Lamb, Nicholson and O’Quinn picked up last season.

“For us to be here and be able to grow together and build chemistry, it’s great,” Harkless said.

“I want to win the championship. That’s the goal. Anything we do, we want to win. We’ve got to build winning habits. We’ve just got to start to have fun and win.”

The Magic will play five exhibition games over six days on Amway Center’s practice court.

The Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz also will participate. Although the event will be televised on NBA TV, it will be closed to the public because of space limitations.

Magic officials view this summer as a crucial one for their young players.

If the franchise’s rebuilding project is going to succeed, the youngsters need to develop into bona fide assets — either to help the Magic on the court in the years ahead or to serve as trade chips in the future.

The players most likely to make the biggest jump are the ones who will be entering their second NBA seasons: Harkless, Jones, Lamb, Nicholson and O’Quinn. Of that group, Jones is the only one who is a free agent.

“We had 20 wins last year,” O’Quinn said. “Everybody’s probably like, ‘What are the Magic going to bring now?’ So we’ve got to show them what we want to stand for.”

Harkless and Nicholson needed to add muscle this offseason.

During his rookie season, Harkless could bench-press 185 pounds five times in a row; now, he said, he can do 15 repetitions.

Nicholson’s arms are much more muscular, and during a recent practice, he also showed an improved long-range shot, making eight consecutive 3-pointers from the left wing.

“They’ve worked so hard on their bodies and on the court,” Borrego said.

“In the offseason, this is where you become a player. The biggest growth, I think, you see in general is between that first and second year. That first year, you get a taste of what the NBA’s about. The summer between your first and second year, you kind of get your ground and your feet under you, and now you’re ready to sort of explode and go. And I think all of them have done that.”